Introducing the Ultra96 Zynq UltraScale+ Development Board

Avnet has announced the new Ultra96 development board, compatible with the 96Boards Consumer Edition specification from Linaro. The Ultra96 board — which is based on the Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC — adds a wide range of potential peripherals and programmable logic acceleration engines not previously available on the 96Boards platform.

The open source 96Boards specifications are designed to accelerate the delivery of low-cost hardware with the latest SoC technology by providing a standard board layout for SoC-agnostic development platforms that can be used for applications like desktop and laptop computing, smart home, digital signage, point of sale, high-end audio, robotics and drones, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, IoT, and industrial control. The 96Boards Consumer Edition defines a fixed set of minimum functions including USB, SD, HDMI, and standardized low-speed and high-speed peripheral connectors.

The new Ultra96 board boots from the provided Delkin Devices Industrial 16 GB MicroSD card, which is pre-loaded with PetaLinux. Designers can connect to Ultra96 through a web server using the integrated wireless access point capability or via the PetaLinux desktop environment, viewable on the integrated Mini DisplayPort video output. Multiple application examples and on-board development options are provided for reference.

“By bringing programmable logic functionality to this specification, we have opened up a wealth of new high-performance and high-bandwidth development options to the 96Boards community of Arm experts and enthusiasts.” — Bryan Fletcher, Avnet technical marketing director

Among the interfaces available on the Ultra96 are LPDDR4 memory, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 classic and Low Energy (BLE), USB 3.0 upstream and downstream, UARTs, JTAG and I2C.

Ultra96 is equipped with four user-controllable LEDs. Engineers may also interact with the board through the 96Boards-compatible low- and high-speed expansion connectors by adding peripheral accessories such as those found in Seeed Studio’sGrove Starter Kit for 96Boards.

“Using programmable logic to accelerate the development of deep learning and AI algorithms is a key trend, but one that has largely been focused on datacenter installation. The Ultra96 makes the power of programmable logic accessible for all types of engineers and is a great example of how 96Boards can make the latest technology accessible for all.” — Yang Zhang, 96Boards director

Want to learn more? You can delve deeper into the hardware’s specs here.